Stocking advice

I seem to be getting such varied advice on whether it’s ‘fine’ to overstock a planted tank or not, would just like some honest opinions.

I currently have a planted 36 gallon bow front cycling. Running an eheim 2213 and a whisper 40 HOB.

According to AquAdvisor my original stock plan has me at 103%, but I’m hoping to up the numbers of my schools a bit.

8 cardinal tetras
8 rummynose tetras
6 Cory cats
1 blue German ram.

Would it be terrible of me to up those numbers to 10 each of tetras and 8+ Cory cats?

I will also mention I do have 5 zebra danios that I’m doing a fish in cycle with, my original plan was to rehome them to my friend with a 100 gal, but I’m sort of growing fond of them. I know this is sort of a frowned upon method, but I am doing 10% daily water changes and testing every second day so don’t @me please ?

Morty91 said:

I seem to be getting such varied advice on whether it’s ‘fine’ to overstock a planted tank or not, would just like some honest opinions.

I currently have a planted 36 gallon bow front cycling. Running an eheim 2213 and a whisper 40 HOB.

According to AquAdvisor my original stock plan has me at 103%, but I’m hoping to up the numbers of my schools a bit.

8 cardinal tetras
8 rummynose tetras
6 Cory cats
1 blue German ram.

Would it be terrible of me to up those numbers to 10 each of tetras and 8+ Cory cats?

I will also mention I do have 5 zebra danios that I’m doing a fish in cycle with, my original plan was to rehome them to my friend with a 100 gal, but I’m sort of growing fond of them. I know this is sort of a frowned upon method, but I am doing 10% daily water changes and testing every second day so don’t @me please ?
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Hello,

I am also very new to the hobby but i would love to share my opinion

At the moment i have 33gal with
6 albino cories
6 kuhli loaches
12 ember tetra
A pair of honey gourami

I think your tank would look very nice with
8 cories
2 german blue ram
10 or 12 either cardinal or rummy nose tetra (i think having one bigger school will look nicer and also they will school better)

If you plan to keep your danios, maybe wait on buying the tetras and see if you want to up the danios instead. Danios are very active swimmer and can be a bit nippy, i’m worried that the danios will bully the tetras if you combine them.

I have to rehome my danios to my mother’s tank because my danios bully my platies and angels.

your tank is bigger than mine but mine kinda look wider so i’m a bit confused about how big of a school will fit in properly.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
How often do you feed the fish?
What do you feed the fish?

How long has tank been set up for?
How often do you do water changes and gravel cleans?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

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There's no hard and fast rule about stocking levels. It comes down to the fish being kept, water changes, feeding schedules and tank size. All of these factors have an impact on how many fish can live in a tank.

If you have a well filtered tank that is 2 foot long x 2 foot wide x 6 inches high, it holds about 50 litres and you could keep 30-40 male guppies in it if you do regular water changes. Change the shape of the tank to 2 foot long x 1ft wide x 1 ft high and you get the same volume of water but you would only keep 10-15 male guppies in it, with regular water changes.

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If you have lots of hiding places (plants for guppies) and there are no females to fight over, then you can hold more fish compared to tanks with fewer hiding places.

If you have males and females in the tank, then they need a bit more space due to territorial disputes over prospective partners.

If the fish are peaceful schooling fish, then you can keep more together. If the fish are highly territorial species, then you have fewer fish in the tank. The schooling fish don't mind having lots of tank mates around them but territorial species will not tolerate having others getting in their face all the time.

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If you feed the fish 5 times a day and do a 20% water change once a week, you would reduce the number of fish in the tank. If you feed the fish less often (1-2 times per day) and do a 75% water change once a week, then you can have a few more fish in the tank. If you feed the fish 5 times a day and did a 75% water change every day you could hold lots of fish in the tank.

More food going in means more nutrients and waste products, and you have to do more water changes and gravel cleans to compensate.

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FISH IN CYCLE
If you are doing a fish in cycle, you need to do big (75%) water changes, not little ones. Small water changes don't do squat in regards diluting nutrients like ammonia and nitrite.

If you do a 10% water change you leave behind 90% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 25% water change you leave behind 75% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 50% water change you leave behind 50% of the bad stuff in the water.
If you do a 75% water change you leave behind 25% of the bad stuff in the water.